Ancient to Modern, Local to Global. News, comment, and resources for professional and amateur church historians.

Study of Ordaining Women Deacons

Pope Francis said he wants to study the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, a step that could for the first time open the ranks of the Catholic Church’s all-male clergy to women.

CHR Comment: The word “deacon” literally means “servant,” and was variously used in the Scriptures and in church history. The article explains that currently ordained Roman Catholic deacons are allowed to preach at Mass but cannot consecrate the Sacrament. Whether women deacons would have the same office and service as the male deacons would be part of the study. In any case, “deacon” has meant many things over the centuries.

2015 Summary: Church History in Real Time

On December 23, I posted about the major global stories in church life from 2015 so that readers could get the big picture alongside the running account of church history related news. I have added that article to the menu above as "2015 Global Events in Church History" so my readers can easily reference it.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, Site Administrator